Followed: The Scarlet Trail
by DekktheODST
Summary: Following the events of Volume 3 Chapter 6, Ruby and Weiss are seen to be the most likely candidates to become the Summer and Winter Maidens, respectively. After hearing the needed sacrifices to do so, they flee Beacon with Qrow, only to be hunted by Hitmen Level Atlesian Knights. Meanwhile, Yang must team up with her greatest enemy in order to survive. [No OCs]


**A/N: Hello! Since I have no doubt episode 7 will not contain these events, unless I magically found out all of RT's plan for RWBY, consider this an AU after V3CH6, The Fall. No OCs will be used, and no new lore will be added, just old fashion fanfiction. This is an experiment, I'll continue if enough people seem to like it, so it'll be a little short. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **There was a tragedy at the tournament.**

"Hello, Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee, I am glad you could join us today." Ozpin said, reclining in his leather chair as the clockwork ceiling ticked and ticked loudly. Glynda and Ironwood stood at his side, Qrow leaning again a pillar on the side with his arms crossed, a look of fury on his face.

"Winter Schnee, as you know, is in critical condition." Ironwood said, following Ozpin's train of thought, an act that seemed to disturb the white haired headmaster.

"What's... What's going on?" Ruby asked, her lip quivering slightly. Her black and red hued hair trembled slightly, the young girl pulling her hood over her head as if for protection. Even the refined Weiss seemed to have had her calm and cool demeanor broken by the previous stressful events, her light blue eyes so foggy and unfocused she almost seemed blind.

"I'm afraid we have been attacked by a very evil force..." Glynda said.

 _*Weiss glanced down at the Coliseum as Winter walked out with a straight back and her arms folded behind her back, pulling up her chin to address the crowd.*_

"And Ruby, Weiss, I am afraid you are our most likely candidates for the summer and winter maiden." Ozpin said, his face twisting as if he tasted something bitter. It has hard to distinguish if it was the coffee he sipped from his cream colored mug, or the events unfolding before him. As always, it was impossible to imagine what was ticking in that head of his.

He explained that the myths were real, however Weiss was frozen in the horrid memory, her hand gripped on the fabric of her sisters burnt uniform.

 _*"Hello, citizens of Remnant! Today, we see the final match of the tournament! "_

 _Cheers erupted, quickly turning to screams as a tornado of fire enveloped the woman, thrusting her to the side with burns. Her aura was depleted. Out walked a woman in a red silk dress, embers dancing around her fingertips. Cinder.*_

"What about Yang?" Weiss asked. While the heiress would commonly hide her care for her team mates behind a venomous tone, this was not the case. Instead, it trembled ever so slightly. "What is happening to her?"

"Due to her... Impressive fighting ability, she is being stored in the Temporary Maximum Security Prison."

The TMSP, the very same prison Torchwick is held captive at. The young Ruby's sister was being held at the very same location the worst of the worst go before awaiting transport to another kingdom, never to be seen again, suffering an unknown punishment. To believe that her only crime was injuring a student, something team RWBY heavily doubted from the blond busty girl's words, was absurd.

"What?" The shouted in a shocked surprise.

"I will have to transfer you both out of team RWBY, as well as Beacon, to train and practice your new abilities." Ozpin said, shaking his head and grabbing several files. They detailed various locations outside of the major kingdoms, anywhere from ancient temples and ruins, to small towns resting in the perfect natural barrier.

"But, Winter... She is still alive!" Weiss asked. "I saw her!"

"A vegetative state, one of which recovery is unlikely." Ironwood said. "No, we can't risk her soul going into Cinder. We will transfer her Aura into you, Weiss."

"What...?" She said, stumbling back. Her white ponytail shivered slightly, despite the room not having a chill. "No!"

"Please, you may join Pyrrha in her training. You will not be alone." Glynda said, Qrow growling.

"This is sick. You all disgust me. They are just girls!" He spat with his gravelly voice. After seeing the glare from the blond woman, he gave a hiss and thrust out his hand with a haphazard wave, taking out his flask and taking a swig from it. With a slight hiccup, he returned to sulking in the corner cross armed.

"This is not a choice, I am afraid. You know that Qrow." Ironwood said, causing Ozpin to shake his head in disdain. Yet again,it was hard to read on that face of unknown age if he was disgusted in the drunkard's behavior, or the general.

"N...No! I won't!" Ruby blurted out suddenly, her childish voice gaining a serious tone. "I'm not getting in that gross soul thing!"

"Girls, please, I would hate to use force." Ironwood said, the members in the group tensing. Despite his threat, his voice kept its calm and almost soothing tone, his arms crossed behind his back.

"Y'know what? The girls are right, I aint standing by this." Qrow said, drawing his sword.

"I will have to chase after you and capture them, which is an unneeded hassle!" Ironwood demanded.

"A hassle?! A hassle?! Do you hear yourself?!" Qrow said, turning to the girls. "C'mon, follow me girls. We're leaving!"

They quietly followed the man, Ironwood slamming down his fist onto the table and cracking the glass.

He let out a yell of anger, turning to the door. He couldn't attack them here, how would that look to international politics?! He would have to wait until after they leave Vale.

"Ironwood, please, don't do this." Ozpin said. "Perhaps we can convince them."

"Enough!" He said, dialing into his scroll. "Atlas HQ, send me unit Alpha and unit Beta."

The Atlas general walked out to the lookout, placing his hand against the glass. Unit Alpha and Beta was a team of one experimental huntsman, exactly the caliber of Penny, as well as two bottom down semi-aware artificial intelligence Atlesian Knights, programmed to be the perfect assassins. Unable to be detected by the Grimm due to the lack of ability to feel fear or hatred, they can survive for years out into the field.

Ironwood would find the two girls and secure them, for the good of mankind and of all of Remnant.

* * *

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, lugging a schoolbag with all her needed essentials, including that of her beloved dog Zwei, which yipped lightheartedly as it popped out his head. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere else." He said simply, shaking his head. "To think Ironwood would finally cross the line. We knew he'd do it eventually, but I always thought we would turn on him. Looks like Ozzy and Glynda thought otherwise." He said, his voice almost deeper and more venomous that it was normally.

"What about Weiss?" She asked at the crossroad, standing on a different path than her uncle. "What about you? You're my drunkle! The one and only!"

He gave a chuckle as he ruffled her hair, turning to walk away from her.

"We have to split up in order to survive Ironass and his men- I mean machines. You will go over on the west side of the mountain ridge, and Weiss will go on the east. I'll go up the blizzard infested mountain to keep watch on both of you. We will meet up at a small town in a valley of the ridge at its base, called Blackwood. I got connections there that will let us camp out until this all blows over." He said, patting her shoulder. "I believe in ya', kid. You'll do fine."

"Thanks." She said, giving a warm smile.

"They will come after you. Ironass has some major tech robo assasins that make Present Rose look like scrap metal."

"If all else fails, Zwei will protect you." He said, chuckling as the girl gave a giggle.

* * *

Yang groaned, pulling herself up from the stone bed.

"Oh, the girl is awake, would you look at that?" The man said, flipping his Bowler hat and smoking his cigar.

"Torchwick!" She spat, thrusting out her fist in a punch, only to find she had no weapon. Glancing around, she noticed the titanium-oumium alloy metal walls, something impossible for even her to break out of.

"What the..." She yelped, trailing off. "Where am I?"

"Prison." He said, holding up his arms in a shrug. "And here we will stay... Until they ship us off to the corners of Remnant to be fed to Grimm."

"No..." She said, darting up and punching the wall. "No way!"

"Yes, way." He said with the smallest hint of a chuckle, his amusement almost only visible in the air he exhaled from his nose. "Enjoy this rock bed while you can, its a luxury compared to where we're headed."

"The heck?! I didn't even hurt him!" She scoffed, thrusting her clenched fists down in a fury.

"He was a student of Haven! You hurting him spits on politics." Torchwick said. "Good form though! I saw it all through the bars of the jail cell."

"You, quiet!" She growled. "I... I need to get back to Rubes. She was in danger!"

"I'm afraid that's just not possible, Blondie." He said, kicking his legs back and crossing them. "We are in one of th best protected prisons in Vale, possibly in Remnant, if you exclude some in Atlas. You aren't getting out of here alone..."

Her lilac eyes flicked towards his, her teeth grinding together.

"What? You expect me to help you?!"

"Yes." He said, standing. "After all, Cinder betrayed me. Deal was I get the dust, she gets her maiden stuff. Ends up, I got double crossed! In my line of business, that is one of the worst things you can do."

"I'm not helping you!" She screamed, the robotic grinding of gears echoing down the halls.

"Ah, looks like Lady Death rides in on her mechanical steed. Times draining... Tick, tock, tick, tock." He said with a smirk, twirling the edge of his fiery red ginger hair.

Yang stomped her foot and crossed her arms, her mind racing.

 _Do I... I can't... I'll..Rubes!_

And it clicked in her head, the gears burning in her head with a hot fire as she walked over to her stone bed, glancing at the leather restrains attached to the stone bed. She slammed her fist into it, the two restraints falling off still attached to chunks of metal and concrete. She strapped them to her wrists, turning to him.

"Hit me."

"Excuse me?"

"Hit me!" She said, grabbing his hand and slapping it into a fist. With a shrug, he revved one up, thrusting it in a hook into her chin. She didn't even stumble, giving a giggle and placing her hand on her hips.

"That's the best you can do? You hit like a girl!" She teased, the man's right eyebrow raised.

"I beg your pardon?" He said, punching again. She stumbled back, giving a devilish grin as her eyes burned red.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" She said, turning and grabbing into the rusted iron bars. In a burst of flaming aura, the bar heated red hot as she tore it off, kicking the lock and shattering it. Steam sizzled off the hooked rod, almost appearing like a cane. "Catch."

She threw the metal cane, the bar dancing in his gloves hands as he breathed rapidly.

"Hot, hot, hot!" He yelped, dropping it with a clatter. The sound echoed through the hall, the distinctive grinding sound of the gears of the Atlesian Knights approaching. The automaton halted, lowering its rifle.

Silence filled the hall so thick one could drink it through a straw, so much that one could hear a pin drop.

"Escaped convict." It beeped, aiming with its rifle and pulling the bolt. "Identify yourself."

"R-Roman Torchwick!" The man said, crouching behind the girl and grabbing his cane.

"You? He said, tilting the gun's barrel to the side and aiming it at her forehead.

"Yang Xiao Long!" She cheered, smashing her gloved fist together.


End file.
